How to change the email address or phone number you use to sign in to your Microsoft account online

You may be prompted to re-enter your password or enter a code we send to the email address or phone number listed in your account as security information. This lets us know the request is coming from you.

Select either Add email or Add phone number.

Note If you see the message “For security reasons, you need to verify your primary alias before you can add another alias” at the bottom of the page, you will need to either Verify your current primary alias or select Rename. If you select Rename, please go to the “How to rename an unverified primary alias” section

If you selected Add email, follow these steps. Otherwise, go to step 7 to add a phone number.

If you want to create a new email address to use, select Create a new email address and add it as an alias, and then follow the instructions.

If you have a non-Microsoft email address (such as an @gmail.com or @yahoo.com email address) that you want to use, select Add an existing email address as a Microsoft account alias, and then click Add alias.

When you add an existing email address, you'll be required to verify that you own that account. To the right of the alias you added, click Verify, and we'll send a message to that email address to get confirmation.

When you receive the verification email, click the link provided to verify that you own the account.

Note The email address that you enter can't already be in use as a Microsoft account alias.

If you selected Add phone number, follow these steps:

Select your country from the list.

Enter the phone number you want to use, and then select Next.

When you add a new phone number, we'll send a text message to that number to verify it. Enter the code in the text message, and then select Next.

Step 2: Set the new email address as your primary alias

After you add the new email address, you need to set it as your primary alias to have it displayed when you sign in to all devices and services. Here's how:

On the Manage your account aliases page, select Make primary under the email address you want as primary under Account alias.

Note Only email addresses can be used as primary aliases.

Step 3: Remove the email address you no longer want to use to sign in

Note If you choose to remove an alias that uses a Microsoft domain such as @hotmail.com, @outlook.com, or @live.com, that alias will be completely deleted and will not be available to sign in to any Microsoft services.

To remove the email address you no longer use to sign in to your account, select Remove next to that alias on the Manage your account aliases page, and then follow the instructions provided.

Important Do not remove this email address if you still want to use it to send and receive email messages.

How to rename an unverified primary alias

If you haven’t been able to verify your primary alias, select the Rename option next to the primary alias on the Manage how you sign in to Microsoft page.

Select either Use an existing alias or Use a different alias.

If you have a verified alias you would like to make primary, select Use an existing alias, and choose the desired email address from the menu. Otherwise, go to step 4 to add or create a new one.

If you select Use a different alias, follow these steps:

If you want to create a new email address to use, select Create a new email address as your primary alias, and then click Rename primary alias.

If you have a non-Microsoft email address (such as an @gmail.com or @yahoo.com email address) that you want to use, select Use an existing email address as your primary alias, and then click Rename primary alias.

When you add an existing email address, you'll be taken to the Verify your email page to verify that you own that account. We'll send a message with a security code to that email address to get confirmation.

When you receive the verification email, enter the provided security code in the field and click Verify to confirm that you own the account.

Note The email address that you enter can't already be in use as a Microsoft account alias.

If successful, you’ll see the “You’ve changed the name of your primary alias” message. Additionally, your previously unverified primary alias will be replaced with the new address on the Manage how you sign in to Microsoft page.

Note It can take up to 48 hours for the change to your email address to be implemented across all Microsoft services. If you sign in to your Microsoft account on an Xbox One console by using your Kinect sensor, you might temporarily be asked to manually sign in with a controller. If you're still being asked to manually sign in after 2 days, try removing your account from the console and then adding it back.

You can use any email address or phone number you have listed as an alias to sign in. To make it harder for someone to break into your account, change your sign-in preferences to turn off any alias you don't want used to sign in.